“The manner of the Uttar Pradesh government’s working is a matter of concern. The BJP had swept the 2014 general election in the State and had done particularly well in Western Uttar Pradesh. BJP president Amit Shah termed 2017 as the “year of challenges” for the party, as it faced crucial polls in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. It is now clear that these two incidents, especially Kairana, will be a major campaign plank in the run-up to the Assembly polls in early 2017. Mr. Shah, however, mentioned these two incidents as examples of the ‘failure’ of the Akhilesh Yadav government to maintain law and order.

Source: The Hindu June 12, 2016 18:11 UTC